Read how Lucknow police traced down kidnappers of Jal Nigam officer

Police seem to have completely solved the case which involves kidnapping of Saleem Fareed, who is a section officer in Jal Nigam Office, Lucknow, and the killing of a man and a woman near Allahabad district. The Jal Nigam section officer, who was kidnapped from Indiranagar on Monday, was successfully recovered by the police in Allahabad after his family paid a ransom of 1o lakh rupees to the kidnappers.

Saleem’s family members had registered a missing complaint at the Ghazipur police station. While investigating the Jal Nigam officer’s sudden disappearance, Ghazipur police received information about the finding of dead bodies of a man named Sandeep Singh and his woman-friend Neetu Ojha on Wednesday on a highway near Allahabad.

Investigations revealed that the deceased couple, who used to live together in Lucknow’s Gomtinagar area, were the mastermind behind Saleem kidnapping case. Later, a joint police team, including officials from Special Task Force, Ghazipur and Allahabad, arrested the men who had killed Sandeep and Neetu. The men named Jitesh and Imran were nabbed by the police team at the Amausi airport, while they were trying to flee on a Go Air flight.

According to CO Ghazipur Dinesh Puri, Salim’s family members lodged the report about his sudden disappearance on Monday. Later, the Jal Nigam officer’s family received a call about his kidnapping and were asked to pay 10 lakh rupees as ransom. Police traced the location of the call and were surprised to find that the call for ransom was made from Allahabad.

A team, comprising officials from the Ghazipur police station, was sent immediately sent to Allahabad to bring back the government officer safely, the CO said. Saleem’s family confirmed that the amount demanded as ransom was paid to the kidnappers. Meanwhile, the Ghazipur police also received the information about Sandeep and Neetu’s murder in an area near Allahabad.

How the police linked the dots between the kidnapping and the murders….

The Allahabad police on Wednesday informed their counterparts in Lucknow that they have found dead bodies of a man and a woman in the district’s Utraavan and Haniya area. The couple were shot dead,

officials said.

The police sensed some foul play and traced down the mobile phone locations of Saleem, Neetu and Sandeep and was shocked to find that they were all in Allahabad at the same time. The 10 lakh rupees which were paid as ransom to kidnappers were also deposited to Sandeep’s bank account, said the police.

SP Allahabad Gangapaar also revealed that Neetu was the native of Allahabad, while Sandeep belonged to UP’s Kaushambi district. They used to live together in Gomtinagar as a couple for quiet some time and worked as property dealers, he said.

After his safe return, Saleem told the police that two more people were involved in his kidnapping other than the deceased couple. A joint team of the STF and Lucknow later traced the couple’s killers when one of them continuously kept withdrawing money from Sandeep’s bank accounts. Their last location was found to be Amausi airport, where the duo was nabbed by the Ghazipur police from a Go Air flight.

On being interrogated, the killer revealed that Sandeep and Neetu had planned Saleem’s kidnapping. They also claimed that Sandeep had asked them to eliminate his woman friend after he received the the payment of the ransom amount. The killers shot dead both Sandeep and Neetu and threw their bodies in the nearby area and were trying to run-away with 10 lakh rupees, officials said.